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August 16, 2013

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch

It's no secret that I'm a Disney superfan. This extends beyond their movies to Disneyland, Disney World, and even Disney flatware. (I have Disney kitchen utensils. They're wildly overpriced.) One of my favorite things about Disney is their attention to detail. As one example, when you walk through the Animal Kingdom at Disney World, you notice how there are leaf prints in the paths, as though they have been imprinted in the mud as they fell. Except that the path is concrete, not mud, and the leaf prints have been planted there (pun not intended). Or the fact that Disney makes sure to carefully coordinate the character's appearances in the parks so that a guest never runs across more than one of the same character, thereby keeping the magic alive for kids who believe these characters are real. It truly is the happiest place on earth and I mean that with all seriousness.

That geeked out feeling I get while walking through Disney World is the same I felt while watching this movie. The details were incredible! Everything, from the way the old video game characters move (the herky-jerky, everything at 90-degree angles movement) to the set design in the Sugarland game (like Candyland on steroids) made me feel as though Disney had literally thought of everything. I cannot say enough good things about it, really.

But even without the amazing details (which take it from a good movie to a great one), the concept itself is wildly creative. A video game character who's sick of being a villain and having no friends? Hilarious. A little sad at times sad, too, but also hilarious. And the sadness is on the light side - just enough to make the movie complex without making you depressed like Bambi or The Lion King (which really has some disturbing stuff if you think about it). It's this type of creativity of plot that kept Monsters University from being a great movie. Wreck-It Ralph is not just a great kid's movie - it is a great movie, period. Go Ralph.

Final word: This movie was so great, even Sarah Silverman's voice couldn't ruin it.